WELCOME!

Welcome to the Litchfield Land Trust Website.

The Litchfield Historical Society and the Litchfield Land Trust are pleased to announce completion of a collaborative project to permanently preserve and archive critical documents relating to local land preservation transactions over the last 50 years.

In keeping with the Litchfield Land Trust's mission to acquire, preserve and steward important land and environments for the benefit of current and future generations, these important documents will be available to the public and are now professionally preserved and archived at the Litchfield Historical Society’s climate controlled records area. With over 3400 acres held in conservation easements and owned properties in Litchfield, this documentation and archiving is an important step to establish public trust and to ensure future land preservation efforts and stewardship.

Established in 1968 as one of Connecticut's earliest land trusts, LLT is dedicated to helping protect the New England character, scenic vistas and natural resources of Litchfield for present and future residents. Today, LLT owns approximately 1100 acres--including the 340-acre Prospect Mountain Preserve--and holds conservation easements on another 2100 acres."

The Litchfield Land Trust is a local private member-driven non-profit organization founded in 1968 dedicated to conserving the natural resources of Litchfield and conservation of critical lands through coordinated efforts with landowners, state and town agencies and conservation organizations. LLT land is maintained in accordance with the highest standards of land stewardship.

ABOUT US

The Litchfield Land Trust is a non-profit, member-supported land trust, incorporated in 1968.

In 2003, we completed our first purchase of land, Hassig Farm on Route 202, now renamed the "Graham Thompson Preserve", and in 2001 we raised the bulk of the funds – through a State matching grant, a foundation grant, and private contributions – toward the purchase of the 90-acre Haight property along the Bantam River, a property now owned and managed by The White Memorial Foundation that contributed its own funds to complete this acquisition.

Since 1968, Litchfield Land Trust has worked with Litchfield land owners interested in preserving their land as open space for the enjoyment of future generations through donations of land and donations of conservation easements.

Litchfield Land Trust Newsletter

CONSERVATION EASEMENTS

A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a land owner and a land trust, or other or- ganization, which permanently restricts certain uses of land in order to protect its historic, scenic or conservation values. Conservation values include wildlife habitat and movement corridors, protection of stream corridors and watersheds, preservation of rare or endemic plant species, and the satisfaction of other community values, such as sustainable agriculture and forest manage- ment. The easement can apply to any portion of a land owner’s property and need not require public access. The specific terms of a conservation agreement are negotiated between the donor and recipient, according to the needs and desires of each.

The land trust is responsible for ensuring that the easement’s terms are followed. This is accom- plished by periodic (usually annual) visitations by the land trust in coordination with the land owner.

If a donated easement benefits the public by permanently protecting the land’s historic, scenic or conservation values and meets other federal tax code requirements, the donation can qualify as a tax-deductible charitable donation. The amount of the donation is the difference in the land’s appraised value with and without the easement.

A conservation easement can be essential for passing land on to the next generation. By removing the land’s development potential, the easement lowers its market value, which in turn lowers any estate tax.

VOLUNTEER

The Litchfield Land Trust owns or holds conservation easements on more than 160 land parcels in Litchfield. It is likely that one or more of these properties are near where you live.

Our stewardship obligations for these properties include periodic visits to ensure that they con- tinue to exist in their natural state, to document these visits, and to continually update a wide va- riety of documentation on our properties, including original documents archived in the Litchfield Historical Society, working copies in our office files, and electronic versions on our office com- puter. On-the-ground work out in the community and maintenance of these records requires a substantial amount of effort.

In addition the Litchfield Land Trust writes, compiles and sends out newsletters each spring and fall.

LLT is an all-volunteer organization whose board members are unpaid. We very much appreci- ate offers from members of the community to help us with our work. Contact us atinfo@litch- fieldlandtrust.org or at 860.361.9310. Thank you

JOIN

If you would like to help support the preservation of Litchfield’s open space and rural character, please click the link below to make a donation.